Unexpected Opportunities of a New Website

Your site may have a larger purpose, or two, or three, or…

Why do you have a website? To drive sales? To explain your services? To showcase your products? To get donations?

All of those are likely true, but websites often have unplanned opportunities and implications for your business. Here are some of the ways that your site serves you that you may not have considered:

Business Strategy

While this may seem obvious, your website has a bigger job than just selling. Your website is a business multi-tool. It gets people excited about your company, informs job seekers, expresses your company culture & values, and more. The design and development of a site have deep ramifications. You should think of your site as a component of your business strategy on every level: sales, marketing, recruitment, brand awareness, thought leadership, and more.

The creation and curation of your site should be a part of your long-term strategy. Today, people’s first interactions with your brand are likely to take place online. That means building, growing, and developing your brand has got to be an ongoing effort. It takes a well-considered strategy to hone this approach and have it be effective.

Think of your site as the company storybook. It needs to be the kind of a story and book that people want to read over and over, and share with friends. Unlike a printed book, readers can jump in anywhere. The good news is that every page is a chance to hook your audience. People hunt and gather on websites, seeking out information that’s relevant to them. They need to be able to track with the narrative no matter where they enter your site. That’s a tall order.

Brand Extension

Small to medium or B2B companies, don’t typically have the luxury of multiple communication channels used by huge consumer-facing companies. Established consumer brands extend into national ad campaigns, in print, or on TV, radio, and social media, in addition to living on their website. Smaller and B2B brands communicate via social media and their site. Social media is most often used to push people to a site. As a result, you need to think about your site as an extension of your brand. We do.

Your Mobile Connection

More and more, connections with your brand are happening on mobile devices. Our sites are responsive by default, so that the mobile and desktop experiences are consistent. Creating them requires thoughtful design, and testing on different platforms and devices. A good user experience is a solid business strategy. When it works, it’s gold. So we make sure it always works.

On The Same Page

A new website is a chance to get everyone in your organization talking the same talk, and presenting a unified vision. The three core areas that we craft are: a consistent visual style, clearly defined messaging, and a carefully considered tone. Getting these right takes a lot of review and refinement. But once it’s dialed in, everyone in your company should be able to connect to your customers, clients, vendors, or potential business partners in the same style.

We have lots of experience turning big, complex ideas into simplified and definitive written and visual content. Because you know your business better than we ever could, we need your help to understand those ideas. We’ll work with you to present your thoughts in the most advantageous way. Of course, we’re going to make lots of suggestions and come to you with a variety of ways to get the information across. Eventually, you’ll have to decide which method(s) work best. When it’s all done right, site visitors resonate with your brand and become fans (and even ambassadors) of your products and/or services.

Company Structure

A new website is a chance to look at your organization’s structure. We ask a lot of questions about client/customer interaction and who’s responsible for which elements of the site. Where does marketing leave off and sales step in? How does customer service fit into the picture? How do job inquiries reach HR? Is tech support handled internally or farmed out? If you have a blog, do you have the internal resources to update and manage it? Who maintains and updates the site? Who provides the answers on the FAQ page? The answers depend on the structure of your company and we’ve seen these questions define, and redefine, people’s roles.

Recruitment

Your site’s a powerful recruiting tool. Prospective employees use your website to get a feel for your company. So do potential business partners. They want to understand your culture, your capabilities, and your competence. When you get that across effectively, you attract employees and partners who align with you.

Company culture isn’t confined to the About Us page. It’s infused into every page of your site. Culture comes across in how you describe your products and services, define your mission, and what you say on your blog and how you say it. People want to connect with the culture when they’re deciding to work with or for you. Your site gives you the opportunity to attract high caliber talent. That often requires some introspection on your part.

Sound a little like dating? Yeah, it’s kind of like that.

Ultimately, It’s About Creating Value

We bring a lot of value to organizations that are at pivot points in their business cycle. We’ve worked with established companies to update their brand, culture and online presence; silicon valley startups; and young companies that are shifting from startup mode to running a sustaining business.

As you can tell, we put a lot of strategic thought into website design, development, and content creation. It takes time, insight, and understanding. It takes thoughtful consideration from everyone. Getting it done as a collaborative effort makes for an awesome project. Most importantly, a new or updated website is a tremendous opportunity. An effective, intuitive, and engaging website adds value to your organization far beyond delivering your core offerings.